cook: breakfast strata

My friend, Cecilia said she had cabin fever and was wanting to convene our breakfast club that she calls Cafe Olivia, where she makes us fancy drinks with her espresso machine. I volunteered to make a breakfast strata with brioche bread and frozen sausage patties I had on hand. There's an egg shortage, but luckily I had some from the warehouse grocery store. Reminder to self: never shop when hungry. I impulsively bought Point Reyes blue cheese and a tiny block of Cypress Grove truffle goat cheese. And so I also impulsively stepped into Whole Foods after the optometry to pick up Momofuku spicy sesame noodles and my favorite baguette. I had also in the morning set out six slices of brioche to get stale, which I set in the oven to toast.        

But first my Saturday afternoon snack of the goat cheese with truffle oil drizzled atop and chunks of baguette and chilled white wine.

  

After dinner, I came back to the strata. I defrosted the breakfast sausage and cut into bite-sized pieces and chopped parsley and green onions to toss into it. I also spiced and salted it with poultry and Old Bay seasoning. 

Next I sprayed my casserole pan with canola oil and layered on the bottom the sausage and vegetables and grated cheese.

 

Next crumble your toasted brioche bread atop the sausage and greens. Sprinkle the grated cheese. I remembered too that I had a stub of Gruyere in the fridge and added it. Then start all over again atop the bread and cheese with additional layers of sausage and herbs and brioche and cheese.

After filling the casserole dish, it was time to make the custard. I whisked 5 eggs and heavy whipping cream and a sprinkling of nutmeg.

 

Then pour the beaten mixture into the strata casserole.

 

I covered the sausage and cheese strata with foil and put it into the fridge. I'll be lap swimming and will be late to this breakfast. But Cecilia will pick it up and bring to the club house. I instructed her to preheat the oven to 350 degrees and let the casserole come to room temp in the meantime. Then pop the foil-covered casserole into the 350 degree oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.